"He's out cold. I think he's gone and eaten something he shouldn't have eaten": What happened the night a Who fan was pulled from the crowd to fill in for Keith Moon

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For some fans, it’s the stuff of dreams, for others the stuff of nightmares: finding yourself on stage in front of 14,000 people playing with the biggest rock band in the world. But that’s what happened to 19-year-old Scott Halpin on 20 November 1973; the night he played drums with The Who.

Halpin and his friend, Mike Danese, travelled from their hometown of Monterey, California, for the Who’s show at the San Francisco Cow Palace. It was the first night of the band’s US tour, and completely sold out. They bought tickets from a tout and managed to get close to the stage. But as soon as the concert began Halpin noticed something was amiss: “You could tell Keith Moon was messed up.”